BASEBALL/Taiwan captain hoping WBCQ trainer snafu a thing of the past

Taipei, March 3 (CNA) Taiwan's national team inexplicably went through the recent World Baseball Classic Qualifiers (WBCQ) without a team athletic trainer in the dugout, a situation team captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) recently said he hopes will not reoccur.

"To players, an athletic trainer is an indispensable part of the game," Chen, who also serves as president of the Taiwan Professional Baseball Players Association, told CNA on March 1, four days after Taiwan clinched a spot in next year's WBC.

Though Taiwan successfully advanced, the lack of a team trainer became a point of contention after the tournament, as Chen revealed that the team -- including himself -- had competed "uncomfortably" for "a number of reasons" throughout the qualifier series.

Chen, who represented Taiwan in the 2023 WBC and the 2024 WBSC Premier12, acknowledged that the team's management had generally taken good care of the players in the past, but the qualifier series was different, he said, due to stricter credential rules.

According to the tournament's rules, each team was allocated 39 official credentials, including 28 for players. The remaining 11 passes were distributed at each team's discretion.

Both Nicaragua and Spain, which defeated Taiwan during the series, had athletic trainers, while Taiwan did not.

Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), which assembled the national team, said nine of the remaining passes were assigned to coaches and the other two to unidentified "support personnel."

Major League Baseball, the WBC organizer, did provide each team with a trainer who did not count against the credential limit, but their lack of familiarity with individual players' conditions made it hard for them to get the most out of players.

Calling the team's regular athletic trainers "the managers of our bodies," Chen said generally they were responsible for helping players deal with physical issues before, during, and after games.

Their duties include helping players stretch, treat injuries, and relax their muscles, but their absence in the dugout and the locker room during the qualifiers disrupted the team's preparation, he said.

"They are the ones who know best what we need and how we go through our routines," Chen said.

Aside from Chen, other Taiwanese players who appeared in need of a trainer during the WBCQ included outfielder Lin Chia-wei (林佳緯) and pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸).

Lin was struck in the face by a ball that bounced off the field after he failed to make a diving catch in the opener against Spain.

Meanwhile, Sha, who started Taiwan's second game against South Africa, was pulled due to cramping in his feet after pitching 2 2/3 scoreless innings.

"Of course, [I] hope we will have everything we need in the future," Chen said. "That way, players will be fully prepared both physically and mentally and can give their best to the game."